The Israeli army announced that, following a search operation, the body of the last Israeli hostage who had been held in the Gaza Strip was found and returned, thereby, according to the authorities, all hostages have been returned to Israel.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that, after the completion of the identification process carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in cooperation with the Israeli police and the Military Rabbinate, the family was informed that the remains of Ron Gvili had been returned for burial.
“With this, all hostages who were held in the Gaza Strip have been returned,” Adraee said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the army for what he described as a successful mission to locate the body of the last captive.
“As I informed the family of Ron Gvili, I can say with satisfaction that our forces have located his body and that it is now on its way home,” Netanyahu stated.
“As I promised you earlier, we have returned all the hostages. This is an extraordinary achievement for the State of Israel and for the citizens of Israel, because you provided us with full support to complete this mission,” he added.
Ron Gvili was 24 years old and was a police officer in the special Yasam unit. Israeli authorities state that he “was killed in combat” on October 7th, 2023, the day of the attack that marked the beginning of the war in Gaza.
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Sharren Haskel stated that the return of the remains of the last hostage is “the first and necessary step at the beginning of the process of rehabilitating Israeli society.”
The Palestinian group Hamas also commented on the discovery of the body. In a statement, Hamas said it would continue to respect all provisions of the agreement.
“We will continue to adhere to all aspects of the agreement, including supporting the work of the National Committee for the Management of Gaza and ensuring its success,” Hamas said.
In the same statement, Hamas called on the mediators and the United States (U.S.) to exert pressure on Israel so that, as they stated, it would “stop violations of the agreement and fulfill its obligations.”
